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Health
Topics 
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Menopause or Hysterectomy
Once you learn how the ovaries and adrenal glands produce hormones, you next need to understand how hormone production and balance can change as you age and enter changing segments of life or "lifecycles." A woman is not officially menopausal until she has not had a period for at least twelve months. The average age of a woman entering natural menopause in the United States is fifty-one. Menopause, or "the change," marks the end of the reproductive years. The pituitary glands and the hypothalamus continue to produce their hormones (e.g. GnRH, FSH, and LH) but the ovaries are no longer able to produce enough estrogen to ovulate. An uninformed medical community continues to treat menopause as an age-related disease, like high blood pressure or Alzheimer's. It's not a disease, it's a natural transition from one life cycle to another. Many physicians also have the misconception that, once a woman enters menopause, the ovaries turn off like a light switch and stop producing all hormones. This is not true. In fact, the ovaries of a menopausal woman are still quite actively producing between forty to sixty percent of the estrogen and testosterone produced by a pre-menopausal woman. Progesterone production, however, continues to decline. At menopause, the continued decline in progesterone can lead to vaginal dryness, hot flashes, hair loss, and night sweats, as well as depression and mood swings. Approximately one in every four American women will enter and abrupt, artificial menopause. The condition known as surgical menopause is the result of a complete hysterectomy, involving the complete removal of the reproductive tract, including the uterus, tubes, and ovaries. Once a woman has had a hysterectomy, her body will immediately enter menopause regardless of her age. It is important to note that with a complete hysterectomy that the ovaries are removed and no longer capable of producing any hormones. As a result, the body goes into a kind of shock. Too many physicians make the mistake of prescribing only estrogen for women after a hysterectomy, but estrogen alone is not enough. After a hysterectomy, a woman's body needs a new and balanced supply of all of her sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Suggested OTC Supplements: Dr. Randolph's Natural Balance Cream "From Hormone Hell to Hormone Well" book
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